Editing Loyalton, California

{{Short description|City in California, United States}}
{{Redirect|Loyalton}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=May 2024}}
{{Infobox settlement
<!-- Basic info  ---------------->
 | official_name            = City of Loyalton
 | other_name               = 
 | native_name              = <!-- for cities whose native name is not in English -->
 | nickname                 = 
 | settlement_type          = [[List of municipalities in California|City]]
 | motto                    = 
<!-- images and maps  ----------->
 | image_skyline            = File:Sierra Valley Home Center in Loyalton, California LCCN2013633851.jpg
 | imagesize                = 250x200px
 | image_caption            = Sierra Valley Home Center in Loyalton
 | image_flag               = 
 | flag_size                = 
 | image_seal               = 
 | seal_size                = 
 | image_shield             = 
 | shield_size              = 
 | image_blank_emblem       = 
 | blank_emblem_type        = 
 | blank_emblem_size        = 
 | image_map                = Sierra_County_California_Incorporated_and_Unincorporated_areas_Loyalton_Highlighted.svg
 | mapsize                  = 250px
 | map_caption              = Location in [[Sierra County, California|Sierra County]] and the state of [[California]]
 | image_map1               = 
 | mapsize1                 = 
 | map_caption1             = 
 | image_dot_map            = 
 | dot_mapsize              = 
 | dot_map_caption          = 
 | dot_x                    = 
 | dot_y                    = 
 | pushpin_map              = USA
 | pushpin_map_caption      = Location in the United States
 | pushpin_relief           = 1
<!-- Location ------------------>
 | subdivision_type         = [[List of sovereign states|Country]]
 | subdivision_name         = {{USA}}
 | subdivision_type1        = [[U.S. state|State]]
 | subdivision_name1        = {{flag|California}}
 | subdivision_type2        = [[List of counties in California|County]]
 | subdivision_name2        = [[Sierra County, California|Sierra]]
<!-- Politics ----------------->
 | government_footnotes     = 
 | government_type          = [[Council–manager government|Council–manager]]
 | leader_title             = Mayor
 | leader_name              = Sarah Jackson
 | leader_title1            = City Council
 | leader_name1             = {{Collapsible list
   |title = Council Members<ref>[https://www.cityofloyalton.org/government.html Government - City of Loyalton]</ref>
   |1  = Joy Markum
   |2  = Darlene Reide
   |3  = Jerry Gerow
 }}
 | leader_title2            = City Clerk
 | leader_name2             = Kathy LeBlanc
 | established_title        = [[Municipal corporation|Incorporated]]
 | established_date         = August 21, 1901<ref>{{Cite web
 |url=http://www.calafco.org/docs/Cities_by_incorp_date.doc 
 |title=California Cities by Incorporation Date 
 |format=Word 
 |publisher=California Association of [[Local Agency Formation Commission]]s 
 |access-date=August 25, 2014 |url-status=dead 
 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130221091414/http://www.calafco.org/docs/Cities_by_incorp_date.doc 
 |archive-date=February 21, 2013 }}</ref>
<!-- Area------------------>
 | unit_pref                = Imperial
 | area_footnotes           = <ref name="CenPopGazetteer2019">{{cite web|title=2019 U.S. Gazetteer Files|url=https://www2.census.gov/geo/docs/maps-data/data/gazetteer/2019_Gazetteer/2019_gaz_place_06.txt|publisher=United States Census Bureau|access-date=July 1, 2020}}</ref>
 | area_total_sq_mi         = 0.35
 | area_land_sq_mi          = 0.35
 | area_water_sq_mi         = 0.00
 | area_total_km2           = 0.92
 | area_land_km2            = 0.92
 | area_water_km2           = 0.00
 | area_water_percent       = 0
 | area_note                = 
 | area_urban_km2           = 
 | area_urban_sq_mi         = 
 | area_metro_km2           = 
 | area_metro_sq_mi         = 
<!-- Population   ----------------------->
 | population_as_of         = [[2020 United States census|2020]]
 | population_footnotes     = 
 | population_note          = 
 | population_total         = 740
 | population_density_km2   = 804.3
 | population_density_sq_mi = 2114.3
 | population_metro         = 
 | population_density_metro_km2 = 
 | population_density_metro_sq_mi = 
 | population_urban         = 
 | population_density_urban_km2 = 
 | population_density_urban_sq_mi = 
<!-- General information  --------------->
 | timezone                 = [[Pacific Time Zone|Pacific (PST)]]
 | utc_offset               = -8
 | timezone_DST             = PDT
 | utc_offset_DST           = -7
 | coordinates              = {{coord|39|40|36|N|120|14|35|W|display=inline,title}}
 | elevation_footnotes      = <!--for references: use <ref> </ref> tags-->
 | elevation_m              = 1509
 | elevation_ft             = 4951
<!-- Area/postal codes & others -------->
 | postal_code_type         = [[ZIP code]]
 | postal_code              = 96118
 | area_code                = [[Area code 530|530]]
 | blank_name               = [[Federal Information Processing Standard|FIPS code]]
 | blank_info               = 06-44364
 | blank1_name              = [[Geographic Names Information System|GNIS]] feature ID
 | blank1_info              = {{GNIS 4|0277550}}
 | website                  = {{URL|www.cityofloyalton.org/}}
 | footnotes                = 
 | pop_est_as_of            = 2019
 | pop_est_footnotes        = <ref name="USCensusEst2019CenPopScriptOnlyDirtyFixDoNotUse"/>
 | population_est           = 702
}}

'''Loyalton''' is the only incorporated city in [[Sierra County, California]], United States. At the [[2020 United States census|2020 census]], the population was 740, reflecting a decline of 29 from the 769 counted in [[2010 United States census|2010]]. The ZIP code for the community is 96118. The town is near the north extent of [[California State Route 49|State Route 49]], which ends at [[California State Route 70|State Route 70]] in [[Vinton, California|Vinton]]. According to Rand-McNally, it is a fifty-mile drive on State Route 49 to the county seat, [[Downieville, California|Downieville]]. Many of the population are ranchers, loggers, former loggers, or suburbanites who have relocated from the [[San Francisco Bay Area]], Sacramento, and growing [[Reno, NV Metropolitan Statistical Area|Reno–Tahoe]] area.

==History==
Loyalton began as a settlement named "Smith's Neck". The name was changed to Loyalton with the onset of the Civil War, expressing the popular sentiment in the area favoring the Union.<ref>[https://www.sierracountyhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/General-History-of-Sierra-County.pdf "A General History of Sierra County", William G. Copren, Sierra County Historical Society]</ref>

The first settlers to the area were largely Swiss and Italian immigrants who established farms in the [[Sierra Valley]] starting in the late 1850s. Sawmills were also established to process timber from the nearby mountains. The production of timber and farms goods found a market among the miners in both California and Nevada. By 1901, the [[Boca & Loyalton Railroad]] arrived.<ref>[https://www.cityofloyalton.org/ The History of Loyalton and Sierra Valley]</ref>  The "City of Loyalton" was incorporated that same year.

==Geography==
Loyalton is located at {{coord|39|40|36|N|120|14|35|W|type:city}} (39.676558, -120.243157).<ref name="GR1">{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/geographies/reference-files/time-series/geo/gazetteer-files.html|publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]]|access-date=April 23, 2011|date=February 12, 2011|title=US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990}}</ref> Elevation above mean sea level for the area was listed as roughly {{convert|4930|ft|m}}. The city is located along [[California State Route 49]], the Gold Country Highway.

According to the [[United States Census Bureau]], the city has a total area of {{convert|0.4|sqmi|km2}}, all land.

===Climate===
This region experiences warm (but not hot) and dry summers, with no average monthly temperatures above 71.6&nbsp;°F. According to the [[Köppen Climate Classification]] system, Loyalton has a [[Mediterranean climate#Warm-summer Mediterranean climate|warm-summer Mediterranean climate]], abbreviated "Csb" on climate maps.<ref>[http://www.weatherbase.com/weather/weather-summary.php3?s=171540&cityname=Loyalton%2C+California%2C+United+States+of+America&units= Climate Summary for Loyalton, California]</ref>

{{Weather box
|location = Loyalton, 1991–2020 simulated normals (4951 ft elevation)
|collapsed = y
|single line = y
|precipitation colour  =green
|Jan precipitation mm  =85.70
|Feb precipitation mm  =72.21
|Mar precipitation mm  =65.04
|Apr precipitation mm  =32.34
|May precipitation mm  =38.98
|Jun precipitation mm  =12.46
|Jul precipitation mm  =7.68
|Aug precipitation mm  =7.17
|Sep precipitation mm  =10.55
|Oct precipitation mm  =26.88
|Nov precipitation mm  =42.86
|Dec precipitation mm  =74.74
|Jan high C = 6.7
|Feb high C = 8.6
|Mar high C = 11.8
|Apr high C = 15.2
|May high C = 20.1
|Jun high C = 25.5
|Jul high C = 30.6
|Aug high C = 30.1
|Sep high C = 26.5
|Oct high C = 19.8
|Nov high C = 11.8
|Dec high C = 6.1
|Jan mean C  =0.3
|Feb mean C  =1.9
|Mar mean C  =4.6
|Apr mean C  =7.2
|May mean C  =11.4
|Jun mean C  =15.7
|Jul mean C  =19.8
|Aug mean C  =18.9
|Sep mean C  =15.6
|Oct mean C  =10.0
|Nov mean C  =4.1
|Dec mean C  =-0.1
|Jan low C = -6.2
|Feb low C = -4.9
|Mar low C = -2.7
|Apr low C = -0.7
|May low C = 2.7
|Jun low C = 5.9
|Jul low C = 8.9
|Aug low C = 7.8
|Sep low C = 4.7
|Oct low C = 0.3
|Nov low C = -3.7
|Dec low C = -6.2
|Jan dew point C =-5.8
|Feb dew point C =-5.5
|Mar dew point C =-4.5
|Apr dew point C =-3.7
|May dew point C =-1.0
|Jun dew point C =1.1
|Jul dew point C =3.6
|Aug dew point C =2.3
|Sep dew point C =-0.2
|Oct dew point C =-2.6
|Nov dew point C =-4.5
|Dec dew point C =-5.8
|source 1 = PRISM Climate Group<ref>{{cite web
  | url=https://prism.oregonstate.edu/explorer/
  | title=PRISM Climate Group at Oregon State University
  | publisher=Northwest Alliance for Computational Science & Engineering (NACSE), based at Oregon State University
  | access-date=March 16, 2023}}</ref>
  | date=March 16, 2023}}

==Demographics==
{{US Census population
|1880= 84
|1910= 983
|1920= 442
|1930= 837
|1940= 925
|1950= 911
|1960= 936
|1970= 945
|1980= 1030
|1990= 931
|2000= 862
|2010= 769
|estyear=2019
|estimate=702
|estref=<ref name="USCensusEst2019CenPopScriptOnlyDirtyFixDoNotUse">{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/popest/data/tables.2019.html|date=May 24, 2020|title=Population and Housing Unit Estimates|publisher=United States Census Bureau|access-date=May 27, 2020}}</ref>
|footnote=U.S. Decennial Census<ref name="DecennialCensus">{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/decennial-census.html|title=Census of Population and Housing|publisher=Census.gov|access-date=June 4, 2015}}</ref>
}}

=== 2020 ===
At the 2020 census Loyalton had a population of 740. The population density was {{convert|2114.3|PD/sqmi|PD/km2|sp=us|adj=off}}. The racial makeup of Loyalton was 601 (81.2%) White, 4 (0.5%) African American, 9 (1.2%) Native American, 0 (0.0%) Asian, 1 (0.1%) Pacific Islander, 45 (6.1%) from other races, and 80 (10.8%) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 127 people (17.6%).<ref>{{Cite web|title=Explore Census Data|url=https://data.census.gov/cedsci/profile?g=1600000US0644364|access-date=February 4, 2022|website=data.census.gov}}</ref>

===2010===
At the [[2010 United States Census|2010 census]] Loyalton had a population of 769. The population density was {{convert|21|/mi2|/km2|disp=preunit|people&nbsp;|people|}}. The racial makeup of Loyalton was 701 (91.2%) White, 2 (0.3%) African American, 21 (2.7%) Native American, 0 (0.0%) Asian, 0 (0.0%) Pacific Islander, 20 (2.6%) from other races, and 25 (3.3%) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 108 people (14.0%).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.census.gov/2010census/popmap/ipmtext.php?fl=06:0644364|archive-url=https://archive.today/20140715031022/http://www.census.gov/2010census/popmap/ipmtext.php?fl=06:0644364|url-status=dead|archive-date=July 15, 2014|title=2010 Census Interactive Population Search: CA - Loyalton city|publisher=U.S. Census Bureau|access-date=July 12, 2014}}</ref>

The census reported that 738 people (96.0% of the population) lived in households, no one lived in non-institutionalized group quarters and 31 (4.0%) were institutionalized.

There were 308 households, 86 (27.9%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 163 (52.9%) were [[marriage|opposite-sex married couples]] living together, 28 (9.1%) had a female householder with no husband present, 19 (6.2%) had a male householder with no wife present. There were 25 (8.1%) [[POSSLQ|unmarried opposite-sex partnerships]], and 0 (0%) [[same-sex partnerships|same-sex married couples or partnerships]]. 81 households (26.3%) were one person and 35 (11.4%) had someone living alone who was 65 or older. The average household size was 2.40. There were 210 families (68.2% of households); the average family size was 2.84.

The age distribution was 156 people (20.3%) under the age of 18, 55 people (7.2%) aged 18 to 24, 164 people (21.3%) aged 25 to 44, 243 people (31.6%) aged 45 to 64, and 151 people (19.6%) who were 65 or older. The median age was 46.2 years. For every 100 females, there were 101.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 98.4 males.

There were 371 housing units at an average density of 1,043.6 per square mile, of the occupied units 225 (73.1%) were owner-occupied and 83 (26.9%) were rented. The homeowner vacancy rate was 3.4%; the rental vacancy rate was 8.8%. 526 people (68.4% of the population) lived in owner-occupied housing units and 212 people (27.6%) lived in rental housing units.

===2000===
At the [[2000 United States Census|2000 census]] there were 862 people in 323 households, including 235 families, in the city. The population density was {{convert|2,516.4|PD/sqmi|PD/km2|sp=us|adj=off}}. There were 347 housing units at an average density of {{convert|1,013.0|/mi2|/km2|disp=preunit|units&nbsp;|units|}}. The [[Race and ethnicity in the United States Census#2000 census|racial makeup]] of the city was 94.90% White, 0.23% African American, 2.67% Native American, 0.12% Asian, 0.58% from other races, and 1.51% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 7.19%.<ref name="GR2">{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov|publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]]|access-date=January 31, 2008|title=U.S. Census website}}</ref>

Of the 323 households 38.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 53.6% were married couples living together, 11.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 27.2% were non-families. 23.8% of households were one person and 10.2% were one person aged 65 or older. The average household size was 2.58 and the average family size was 3.00.

The age distribution was 29.1% under the age of 18, 6.0% from 18 to 24, 24.8% from 25 to 44, 24.4% from 45 to 64, and 15.7% 65 or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females, there were 94.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.5 males.

The median [[income]] for a household in the city was $34,063, and the median family income was $39,750. Males had a median income of $38,864 versus $23,571 for females. The per capita income for the city was $15,732. About 20.3% of families and 18.1% of the population were below the [[poverty line]], including 22.0% of those under age 18 and 6.7% of those age 65 or over.

==Politics==
In the [[California State Legislature|state legislature]], Loyalton is in {{Representative|casd|1|fmt=sdistrict}},<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://senate.ca.gov/senators |title=Senators |access-date=March 10, 2013 |publisher=State of California}}</ref> and {{Representative|caad|1|fmt=adistrict}}.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://assembly.ca.gov/assemblymembers |title=Members Assembly |access-date=March 2, 2013 |publisher=State of California}}</ref>

Federally, Loyalton is in {{Representative|cacd|1|fmt=district}}.<ref>{{Cite GovTrack|CA|1|accessdate=March 3, 2013}}</ref>

==Government==

===Local===
Because Loyalton is Sierra County's most populous [[municipality]] and its only incorporated city, the location of the Sierra County Board of Supervisors twice-monthly meetings alternate between [[Downieville, California|Downieville]], Sierra County's [[county seat]], and the city of Loyalton.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.sierracounty.ca.gov/182/Board-of-Supervisors| title=Sierra County Board of Supervisors Meetings | access-date=December 31, 2021}}</ref>

The City of Loyalton's total expenditures for 2012 were $1.2 million, funded mostly from outside sources such as federal and county grants.<ref name=nyt>{{cite news|last1=Walsh|first1=Mary Williams|title=$1.6 Million Bill Tests Tiny Town and 'Bulletproof' Public Pension Plan|url=http://nyti.ms/2dPNkKZ|access-date=October 10, 2016|work=[[The New York Times]]|date=October 10, 2016|page=A10}}</ref> Local tax collection revenue that year was $163,000.<ref name=nyt/> In 2016, the city recovered over $400,000 that had been embezzled by an employee but it still faces an $80,000 budget shortfall.<ref name=nyt/>

In 2012, the Loyalton City Council decided to withdraw from [[CalPERS]] because its last employee with a guaranteed pension had retired.<ref name=nyt/> The city had been fully paying its required annual contribution of $30,000 and had only four remaining pensioners.<ref name=nyt/> CalPERS then demanded $1.6 million from the city.<ref name=nyt/> CalPERS publicly uses [[actuarial present value]] to calculate member contributions but when a member withdraws it utilizes a non-public calculation to define unfunded liabilities.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Walsh|first1=Mary Williams|title=A Sour Surprise for Public Pensions: Two Sets of Books|url=http://nyti.ms/2cQUDA2|access-date=October 10, 2016|work=The New York Times|date=September 18, 2016|page=BU1}}</ref> Loyalton has not yet paid the bill so CalPERS is charging 7.5% annual interest and had sent a final demand letter in September 2016.<ref name=nyt/>

==In popular culture==

Loyalton was extensively used as a filming location in the 1949 movie ''[[Beyond the Forest]]'', starring [[Bette Davis]] and [[Joseph Cotten]], and directed by [[King Vidor]]. Main street business facades are featured, as are the evident owners of the businesses and other townspeople. In the script, the town is referred to as "Loyalton, Wisconsin."

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* [https://www.cityofloyalton.org/ City of Loyalton]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20110119022553/http://www.discoversierracounty.com/ Discover Sierra County]
* [http://loyaltonmuseum.org Loyalton Museum]

{{Sierra County, California}}
{{Sierra Nevada}}
{{authority control}}

[[Category:Incorporated cities and towns in California]]
[[Category:Cities in Sierra County, California]]